The
SOUTHERN OCEAN Times Vol. 7 - No. 42
In This Week’s Edition
BREAKING NEWS @
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Community News! Pages8-9
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Pages 14
Inside The Law Page 21
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Local Man 3-D Prints Masks For Doctors
By Chris Lundy TOMS R I V ER – Whenever there’s a big problem, everyday people often step up to the challenge. Wherever COVID-19 has struck, there has been a shor t age of personal protective equipment for first responders. Globally, the story is the same: as the numbers of infected rise, so does the demand for masks, gowns, and other necessities among the medical community. Township resident Er ic Mewe ng k a ng, is part of a group of people who have been using their 3-D printers to make masks for medical professionals. These masks are a plastic shield that drops down from the forehead and creates a kind of splash guard for the wearer. They are not to be confused with the N95 respirator masks that look like surgical masks and filter out particles from the air. His group is made up of people from all over
−Photos courtesy Eric Mewengkang (Above) Medical professionals using the 3-D printed masks. (Right) Masks in the process of being printed. the world. There are about 8-10 people who collectively print about 200 masks a day. A 3-D printer builds an object one layer at a time until it’s complete. In this case, it is literally building a plastic object one tiny layer
at a time until it’s real. The printer is told what to make by giving it a design file. That file is open source, meaning
that people share the file and make changes to it to fit people’s needs. They might get feedback (Masks - See Page 12)
Inside One Family’s Struggle With COVID-19
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK − Bob Richards and his wife Mary, flew into Florida’s West Palm Beach Airport on Thursday, March 12 to attend the wedding of their nephew, whose nuptials were to be held on March 14. “That’s where I think we picked up the virus,”
Bob said during a phone interview from his home in Brick recently. “Six members of our extended family, who were from New Jersey and from New York City, have tested positive since they came home, and one of my cousins, who has diabetes, has been hospitalized,” said Bob, who
is in his 60s. Two family members in Florida also developed symptoms in the days following the wedding. On March 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised no gatherings of 50 or more people in the United States over the next eight weeks.
The Richards f lew home on March 16, which is when they came down with a fever and chills initially, followed by various other symptoms including coughing, body aches and more. After being home about a week, Mary thought they should be tested, but testing in
New Jersey was limited to those who had a fever. Mary called Ocean Me d ic a l C e nt e r i n Brick where they suggested a video exam for coronavirus with an emergency room doctor. Instead of waiting on hold, she joined a queue and the doctor (Struggle - See Page 4)
April 11, 2020
Barnegat Adopts $27M Budget
By Chris Lundy BA R N EGAT – A $27,905,152 budget was adopted by the Township Committee during their most recent meeting, which was streamed live because of the pandemic. The budget includes an increase in taxes of approximately 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation. For someone living in a house assessed at the township average, $240,000, they would pay $24 more a year. The budget is an increase of $1,413,055 over 2019’s adopted budget of $26,492,097. It needs to be noted that the total budget
includes all sources of revenue, not just taxes. The amount that will be raised in taxes for 2020 is $22,857,004. This is an increase of $865,283 f rom last year’s $21,991,721. Barnegat Chief Financial Officer Thomas Lombarski said that the township will be paying off several lines of debt this year. It’s bond rating recently increased to AA-, meaning that there are only two higher ratings, he said, which indicated a strong fiscal position. A bond rating is a lot like a credit rating, but for a town. The better the bond rating, the (Budget - See Page 12)
Quarantine May Not Be Safe When There’s Domestic Violence
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK − What is happening behind closed doors during the coronavirus quarantine for families who have a history of domestic abuse? There is no question that tensions are running high for most people who self-quarantine. They are isolated, and when they do venture out, they have to keep a social distance from others. “There has actually been a decrease in [domestic abuse hotline] calls across the state,” said Mary Pettrow, associate service area director of Catholic Charities’ Providence House-Domestic Violence Services. The organization provides comprehensive services to victims of domestic abuse and their children. “Historically, when there’s a crisis, like SuperstormSandy and 9-11, there is quiet before (Quarantine - See Page 7)
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